Today I made a guitar pick out of olive wood. Yup – heard that right. I crafted a guitar pick with a saw, file and sand paper that someone is going to buy for 5 euros! I put a few hours in… so in total it was likely about 2.50 euros an hour pay!  It puts a total perspective on artisans work. I imagine I’ll get faster, we have a lot more to make. 

I’m doing a workaway stay on a finca in Tortosa, Spain. If you haven’t heard about workaway check it out! Great way to travel for someone like me who is happy to work. There are a wide range of options…. gardening, child care, teaching english, helping with house chores…. and in return you get room and board for 4 to 5 hours of work a day. 

I’m here with 18 goats, 5 chickens, 2 other Americans and a spaniard from Madrid. The hosts are from Eugene Oregon originally and of course they wanted to come live off the land in Spain! We are off the grid and it is a totally “be free and creative and work when you feel like it” kind of hippy organic let the energy flow place. We are cracking almonds harvested in the last few weeks, nibbling carob harvested before that and walking the goats each day! There is little milk for making cheese right now as the big producers are pregnant. I’m bummed because I would love to learn to make fresh goat cheese, but such is life in the world of the traveling wanderer. You get what you get; no complaints! 

Tortosa is arid. The ground is mostly rock with only a few inches of dirt. Olive groves are rampant and later today I’ll walk down the road to harvest fruit from the prickly pear cactus. I’ve got 3 chickens under the table cooing as I write this, a slight breeze and the sun, the very hot baking sun has gone behind clouds. It’s actually a pleasant temperature. Spain’s topography and climate have been a surprise, I didn’t realize it was so warm and dry. A quick internet search could have prepared me but why spoil the exquisite joy of experiential learning! 

liv, one of my fellow work away folks, just came up and handed me a fig, from the tree in the gorge. She’s about to make some jam. Divine! What a gift this harvest from the land! 

My 5 days here should provide interesting tales and a great way to stop, breathe, write, and be grounded. These traveling breaks give a window into life of the locals.